How raising rabbits can raise a few hairs…

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I am resurrecting an article that I wrote when I first started this site in 2008. It is about getting a bunny as a pet for Easter and offers some advice you should consider before you go looking at the local pet store with little or no knowledge of what you are getting into. I feel that the tips are as relevant now as when I first wrote this article.

So you are thinking about buying your first Easter bunny here are some things you should know:

It is better not to go to a pet store. The bunny will be expensive, and you don’t know if it came from a reputable breeder. What should you do? Attend an ARBA show and meet rabbit breeders who have bunnies for sale. You will get more choices and likely at likely a cheaper price than a pet store (depending on the quality of the rabbit for show). ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association) shows take place most weekends. To find out when a show is going to be in your area visit the ARBA website at: http://www.arba.net/showinfo.htm

Do your homework. Spend time researching information about rabbit breeds so that you will know how big it will get, what foods to feed it, and what kind/size of cage to purchase for it. If you purchase a bunny for a breeder, make sure to ask them these questions. More information about breed can be obtained by visiting: http://www.arba.net/photo.htm

Taking care of a bunny is a lot like caring for any pet. They need fresh food and water daily, attention, time, and exercise. If you have had other pets and weren’t able to devote this kind of time to them, I would recommend not purchasing a bunny.

Do NOT feed your bunny vegetables like carrots and lettuce especially when it is young. It may become very sick. Only feed bunnies rabbit pellets until the are full grown. At this time, you can give them an occasional treat.

Rabbits can be house trained like a dog or cat. I am looking for a good resource for how to do this. Check back soon to find out.

I am working on revamping and opening this site for business again. Please bare with me during that time. In the meantime, please leave a comment or send me a tweet offering suggestions for what I should write an article about next. I have some ideas, but nothing firm yet. I am sure that an upcoming one will have something to do with Easter and what to do if you are considering a bunny for a pet.

Rabbit is one of the healthiest meats around. It is very lean, low calorie, high protein, and tastes similar to chicken. It is also low in fat in comparison to other meats. Raising rabbits for meat is environmentally friendly as they don’t take up a lot of space, they eat alpha rather than grains, and they don’t receive hormones. Rabbit meat is USDA inspected and can be graded. They should be fully cooked before eating and can be frozen as well as kept as refrigerated leftovers for three to four days.

Rabbit meat is readily as they are extremely efficient breeders. A single female rabbit can birth approximately 20 bunnies a year. “That makes rabbits highly efficient and accessible. North Dakota State University recommends that rabbits be raised in relatively small structures that include cages with wire mesh bottoms so that the cages are ‘self cleaning’. The most expensive part of raising rabbits is purchasing feed, which can be about 75 percent of the total production costs, according to North Dakota State University”.